What a wonderful summer we have had, and it has been wonderful to see so many families bring their children down to Warrington beach to swim, body board, play, build in the sand, hunt in the rock pools, fly kites, ride bikes, play cricket and spend time together.
The Warrington Life Guards mounted patrols from 11am – 7pm in the holidays. The secret is… the best time of day is 5–7pm after work or tea when the wind has dropped and the sun dips low and golden on the horizon. The Guards will continue to man (and women!!) the beaches until March 18.
We have been very busy this summer with lots of swimmers and training. We have lots of new equipment thanks to our sponsors Bendigo Valley Sports Foundation, Masonic Trust, Macraes and DHL to name only a few of our wonderful supporters.
We now have two Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRBs) and a motor, a new set of rescue tubes, a wonderful bright yellow tent and a new set of rescue boards. Every Wednesday during the holidays life guards have been on the beach training for a full day. You will see the IRBs out training in the evenings and every Sunday morning the IRBs practise racing to be ready for the Southern Series on March 3 and the Nationals here at Warrington March 27 – April 1.
We have had a resident seal with us this season. He is young and very keen to play. Life guards are trained to treat seals like a bouncy, overgrown puppy and he will readily follow them down the beach away from the flagged area while you are swimming.
Our Hector's dolphins remain a well kept secret but they have been seen daily moving back and forward between Purukanui Inlet and our Warrington beach.
If you see a flotilla of paddle boards on the beach, that will be our nippers training on Saturday and Sundays. Our athletes have been training hard to go away to Surf league at Mount Maunganui and half of the Otago team this year come from our club! If you see us training on the beach, or in the orange IRB boats, do come and say hello. We have a BBQ every Sunday after nippers training at 12 noon at the club house. Sausages are only $1, while a cuppa tea and juice costs only a sandy smile. We welcome new families.
Surf League
Congratulations to the following Warrington SLSC members who were selected to represent Otago at the Surf League in Mount Manganui early in February. We are really proud of you all.
U19 Surf League: Angus McKenzie, Pru Casey (Manager)
U16 Surf League: Eilis Doyle
U14 Surf League: Tadhg Kelly, Rebecca McNaughton, Devon Familton, Ali Adams
Club Celebrations
Last month Warrington SLSC and Moana Rua Ladies SLSC celebrated their 55th anniversary. Past and present members were invited along to the club for a shared lunch and to watch the current generation training on the beach as well as have a catch up with old friends. The day was a great success and culminated in a celebratory cake being cut by founding member Pat Ellison with youngest current members Roland Ozanne (4) and Madison Lobb (5) (see photo).
Upcoming Events
Good luck to Ali Adams and Devon Familton who are representing Warrington at the Under 14 Surf Life Saving championships at Mount Maunganui on the 23 to 26 of February.
Saturday March 3 – BP Surf Rescue Series (IRB), Southern Region (Warrington Beach)
Sunday March 4 – Junior Otago Champs (Warrington Beach)
Sunday March 18 – Final patrol of the summer (Warrington Beach)
Friday March 30 - Sunday April 1 – BP Surf Rescue NZ Champs (Warrington Beach)
Photo of the U14 team - back row from left: Richard Murray (manager), Justin Pickering, Connor Cawley, Bailey Brandham, Lachlan Brandham, Tadhg Kelly, Dave McPhee (coach). Front row: Devon Familton, Ali Adams, Sapphire Tapsell, Mikayla Garforth, Rebecca McNaughton
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